Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers talked about his good mate Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket and stated that the ex-India captain followed his gut feel. On May 12, Virat Kohli shocked everyone by declaring his retirement from Test cricket in advance of the highly anticipated England tour. 

After playing 123 Test matches for India, the 36-year-old right-handed batter decided to end his Test career.  At an average of 46.85, Kohli amassed 9230 runs, which included 31 half-centuries and 30 hundreds.

According to former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, who is close to Kohli, the former India captain trusted his instincts when he decided to quit the game's longest format.

Over the previous five years, Kohli had struggled with dismal Test form, managing just four hundreds. Because of poor performance, Kohli's average dropped from 55 to around 46.

De Villiers, however, believes that Kohli has left a significant legacy and has contributed significantly to cricket globally.

“He followed his gut feel. I think he has done a lot for cricket around the world over the years. Luckily, we’ll still see him on the cricket field. He will be missed in Test matches, there is no doubt about it, but he leaves (behind) a great legacy with the red ball,” De Villiers was quoted by Hindustan Times.

De Villiers also spoke about the upcoming five-Test series between England and India, which begins on June 20. The ex-South Africa captain stated that India can give tough competition to England, despite having a young captain in Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain.

“Yes, it’s time for the younger guys to step up… Shubman Gill taking on the responsibility. There’s lots of talent in India, and largely credit to the IPL for that (it is) giving great exposure to some of the youngsters at a very early age," said de Villiers.

"We saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi this year (and) many other youngsters; they come in their first year, and they look very mature and ready to play cricket, and it’s a great platform for Indian cricket,” he added.

He also stated that the young members of the squad need to take some responsibility, as the tour of England will be a tough Test.

“They’ve got to take some responsibility on in England, it’ll be a tough test, but they have all the talent in the world, and if they believe, maybe they can achieve something special,” said de Villiers.

(ANI inputs)